Burgruine Schaunberg

Austria, Austria

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Burgruine Schaunberg (also called Schaunburg or Schaumburg) is the largest and most powerful castle ruin in Upper Austria, lying on a rocky spur above the town of Hartkirchen in the district of Eferding, close to the Danube.

Built from around 1150, it was first documented in 1161 as the seat of Heinrich von Schaunberg; the castle became the centre of the powerful Schaunberg noble family, who even defied the Habsburgs during the “Schaunberger Fehde” of 1380–81, and it remained in their possession until the death of the last male count, Wolfgang II, in 1559, when the estates passed to the Starhemberg family, who still own the site today.

With an enclosed area of about 17,500 m² (main castle around 3,600 m² and forecourt about 11,000 m²), the huge complex includes a 32‑metre high, 12th‑century Bergfried (keep), parts of the palas, chapel, gate towers, and extensive ring walls and ramparts; although the castle was largely abandoned as a residence in the early 16th century and fell into ruin after the late 17th century, it has been carefully maintained since the 1950s by the “Friends of Schaunberg” association, and visitors can climb 186 steps to a viewing platform on the keep for panoramic views over the Eferding Basin, the Mühlviertel, and the Danube.